Learning Spaces – the Environment as the Third Teacher. Part 1

HOW ARCHITECTURE CAN SUPPORT MODERN EDUCATIONAL METHODS.

In building the new German School campus in Yangpu, headmaster Sven Heineken was given the opportunity to design a school building based on the shifting demands of modern teaching techniques. VIRTUARCH supported him in the project’s development and implementation phases. To commemorate the one-year anniversary of its opening, Sven Heineken met Daniel Heusser onsite to discuss lessons learned, success factors, and takeaways from the project. Read the first part of the three-part series.

Daniel

Spatial schemes and user requirements were key drivers for the design of the new school in Yangpu. We developed them with your colleagues from the German and French schools over the course of a series of workshops. How well do you think the central themes of networking, clusters, and color concepts have been translated into the learning environment – for both pupils and teachers?

Sven

The most exciting part of the project for me was how the individual sections of the school interlink and relate with one another. We decided on the cluster concept, which was implemented from Kindergarten all the way up through the Elementary to Secondary sections. This allowed for consistency within the school as a whole while tailoring to the individual needs of each cluster, forming autonomous, individual areas within the overarching concept. As a result, we have the feeling of several smaller, self-sufficient ‘schools’ operating within one building, fostering a private learning environment and a feel-good atmosphere. Each ‘school cluster’ features its own faculty room, flexible multi-purpose rooms, classrooms, toilets, and piazza. While these areas have been realized differently in each cluster, to reflect the requirements developed in our workshops, the functionality remains the same across the board.

Forum of the kindergarten of the German School Yangpu, Shanghai (Photo: CreatAR Images)

Daniel

The goal was to unify these autonomous clusters and then differentiate them through shape and color.

Sven

Precisely. The Kindergarten is largely orange and green. Lively colors, round shapes, a feeling of openness – everything here is playful. When you move to the Elementary section, the orange is dropped and green becomes the dominant color; corners are still rounded to keep everything child-friendly. The change is more obvious when moving to the Secondary School: gray dominates while green is used as an accent color only; the walls start ‘dissolving’ into the glass. The colors and design of each cluster mirror the needs of the children it is designed for – working as a visualization of the developmental phase they are in.

Daniel

We originally developed this idea of maturing color schemes and increasingly angular forms as the children graduate into new school environments while working on the old school in Pudong. Which of these elements were transferred and what is new?

Sven

We evolved the color concept we had chosen for the Pudong campus. We defined a basic color scheme comprising wood tones, green, white, and anthracite to achieve a uniform look for the building as a whole. Then we built on that with the same strong accent colors already in use at the old school, different by section: blue for Secondary School, green for Elementary School, and orange for Kindergarten. The accent colors are predominantly used within our signage concept, to more easily identify the individual areas and facilitate orientation within and between them. Even safety measures are tied in with this, e.g., color-coded evacuation routes to follow in the event of an emergency.

Atrium of the German School Yangpu, Shanghai (Photo: CreatAR Images)

“We give children the freedom to discover the world for themselves”

Daniel

“Discover the world” is the motto of the German School Yangpu. How has this been reflected in the architecture?

Sven

The idea extends throughout the entire building. I like to compare it to an airport, but more intimately designed: The entrance foyer is the public area where parents drop off their children and might do some shopping or browse for books. After ‘checking in’, the children go on alone to the ‘boarding’ areas, i.e., their respective learning clusters. The separation between ‘public’ and educational areas was consciously done. The educational spaces are a private, safe place where we work with the children to discover the world independently of their parents.

“Through architecture, we have created an intimate atmosphere”

Daniel

How to structure the different sections was a key question in the design of both schools. The school in Pudong, which was very fragmented due to it occupying several existing buildings. We then made this a quality, creating a ‘family’ atmosphere. Here in Yangpu, the campus is much bigger. Nevertheless, we wanted to maintain the quality of the Pudong School, so to speak, to further develop the ‘Pudong DNA’. How did that work?

Sven

We transplanted four themes from the old school: the ‘house of learning’, the cluster principle, the individualized learning spaces, and an intimate atmosphere. The latter clearly represented a case of you making a virtue out of a necessity on the Pudong campus – previously an industrial building, there were many niches and corridor connections, and some areas were inevitably separate. Yet when designing the new school layout in a purpose-built structure, we wanted to keep the atmosphere previously enjoyed in Pudong. We had the opportunity to group the classrooms around a central, open area, the ‘town square’.

We wanted the children to embrace the architecture, which only works if it is part of the learning and play experience. To achieve this, we incorporated different elements into the different clusters. The Kindergarten-plaza has a slide children can use instead of the stairs. There is a large play area backed by a multifunctional room featuring a stage and a gymnasium. The functionality of the architectural features comes into play throughout, making it not just a space, but a building which actively encourages learning, thereby truly embodying the phrase ‘house of learning’. 

Middle School’s Market Place (Photo: CreatAR Images)

Secondary School: The Forum of Ideas

Daniel

You mentioned the role of the plaza in the concept for the Kindergarten. We find it repeated in the Elementary and Secondary School areas. In the Secondary School cluster, the space is reinterpreted as an atrium for students to use as they please. We chose the Roman Forum as inspiration for this large open space, which acts as the heart of the cluster from which classrooms and other teaching areas lead off. In the tradition of the Roman Forum, it is a meeting point to exchange thoughts and ideas.

Sven

Absolutely. We used the typical architectural principles of a courtyard house or atrium. A sheltered space where you can meet, stroll and philosophize. Transferred into a school setting, it is a place where pupils can meet and can learn independently. The interior design and the furniture continue in that same vein: it’s simple but creative. There is always something going on in the atrium – laptops are shared, collaborative work and discussions are ongoing. There are also quieter areas offering space for contemplation and reflection. Our pupils feel at home here – it is a great learning space.

Daniel

Natural lighting is of central importance to us when conceptualizing a school. Light, especially daylight, can bring a room to life, creating a friendly learning atmosphere. Accordingly, the illumination concept was an important issue when designing the new school in Yangpu.

Sven

The foyer is wonderfully bright. Also, the skylights we had originally planned for the Secondary School Atrium have now been installed making it even brighter and underlining its central importance as a gathering space. The Kindergarten has a pleasant atmosphere thanks to the orange tint of the natural light. 

Daniel

We installed skylights at the Pudong campus to give more light to centrally located interiors. One of the most fascinating things about the piazza there was the play of light – the room was bathed in different daylight depending on the time of day. This play of light is visible in the Yangpu building too.

Enhancing the natural lighting with artificial illumination is also important. How has the lighting concept designed for Yangpu worked in reality?

Piazza of the German School Pudong, Shanghai by VIRTUARCH, 2011-2012

Sven

We decided on an illumination level of 400 lux and that has worked well overall. The office area feels a little dark, we could have been bolder there. On the other hand, we now have more daylight in our office areas, so overall I can’t complain.

Sven Heineken completed his teaching degree in music and physics at the Carl von Ossietzky University in Oldenburg. Following practical teacher training in Frankfurt, Sven taught at the Otto Hahn secondary school, Springe and Viktoria Luise secondary school in Hameln before taking on the role of Deputy Headmaster at the Humboldt secondary school in Bad Pyrmont. In 2014, Sven became headmaster of the German School, Pudong. As part of this role, he was given the opportunity to plan and design a new school building in the Yangpu District, which opened to students in 2020. Sven will soon be returning to Germany, where he will become Principal of the Buxtehude-Süd secondary school, Buxtehude in August 2021.

Daniel Heusser studied architecture at the ETH Zurich and Southeast University in Nanjing. In 1994, he came to China to set up a Joint Venture for a Swiss architecture firm. Daniel has been in charge of the architecture and project management company VIRTUARCH since 2003. VIRTUARCH has offices in Shanghai, Bangkok, and Zurich and encompasses a team of 80. Daniel and his team have worked on over 120 school projects in China and Southeast Asia, including the Eurocampus projects in Shanghai, the German School Pudong, and school campuses for Dulwich in Shanghai, Suzhou, Beijing, and Zhuhai, to name but a few.

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